§ 2.715 - Participation by a person not a party.

(a) A person who is not a party may, in the discretion of the presiding officer, be permitted to make a limited appearance by making oral or written statement of his position on the issues at any session of the hearing or any prehearing conference within such limits and on such conditions as may be fixed by the presiding officer, but he may not otherwise participate in the proceeding.

(b) The Secretary will give notice of a hearing to any person who requests it prior to the issuance of the notice of hearing, and will furnish a copy of the notice of hearing to any person who requests it thereafter. When a communication bears more than one signature, the Commission will give the notice to the person first signing unless the communication clearly indicates otherwise.

(c) The presiding officer will afford representatives of an interested State, county, municipality, Federally-recognized Indian Tribe, and/or agencies thereof, a reasonable opportunity to participate and to introduce evidence, interrogate witnesses, and advise the Commission without requiring the representative to take a position with respect to the issue. Such participants may also file proposed findings and exceptions pursuant to §§ 2.754 and 2.762 and petitions for review by the Commission pursuant to § 2.786. The presiding officer may require such representative to indicate with reasonable specificity, in advance of the hearing, the subject matters on which he desires to participate.

(d) If a matter is taken up by the Commission pursuant to § 2.786, a person who is not a party may, in the discretion of the Commission, respectively, be permitted to file a brief “amicus curiae”. A person who is not a party and desires to file a brief must submit a motion for leave to do so which identifies the interest of the person and states the reasons why a brief is desirable. Except as otherwise provided by the Commission, such brief must be filed within the time allowed to the party whose position the brief will support. A motion of a person who is not a party to participate in oral argument before the Commission will be granted at the discretion of the Commission.